The Choice
by phantomviola
Summary: Mimi gets a chance to see what her life would be like if she'd made a different choice in high school... AU.


Thirty-four year old Mimi Marquez-Worth carefully backed into her driveway, aware of the pounding rain beating on the windshield. She turned off her car and slid out of the driver's seat. She walked around the silver station wagon and opened the side door of the car. Two small boys, a five year old and a seven year old, hopped out.

"Mommy," Jack, the smaller one, said. Mimi knelt by Jack.

"Yes?" She replied.

"My mitten innit on right," Jack said, using his left hand to gesture at his right mitten, which had somehow twisted itself around his hand. Mimi smiled and started untangling. Mittens were not a must in (most of the time) sunny Florida, but Mimi had always stored away an extra pair for Jack and Aiden in case it ever snowed. Well, Mimi thought, this was as close as it was going to get.

"Isn't," Mimi corrected. "And now it is."

"Innit," Jack tried again.

"Come on!" Aiden bellowed from the doorway.

"Come on, Jack," Mimi said to her son. Jack, lacking in coordination, slowly made his way across the wet lawn in his heavy rainboots.

Mimi unlocked the door and stepped inside, shrugging off the poncho and hanging it up. Aiden hopped out of his drenched sneakers and ran off. Jack, the quieter, more careful one, slowly started to take off his boots. Mimi watched the boys as they entered and decided Aiden took after Mimi's Hispanic heritage, while Jack looked Greek like Paul.

"How was the soccer game, Jack?" Mimi asked.

He shrugged. "Good." Mimi paused, waiting for something else. "I got stuck on defense, though."

"Did you root for your brother, Aiden?" Mimi called into the living room where Mimi was sure Aiden was watching TV.

"Yes." He called back. Aiden and Jack spent afternoons at the Y, where Jack played indoor soccer and Aiden did homework or played basketball.

"Want to help me make dinner?" She called.

"Not really." He called back, absorbed in the cartoons.

Mimi rolled her eyes and turned to Jack. "Wanna help me?" she asked.

Jack nodded, and the two set to work cutting beef, peppers and tomatoes for tacos.

* * *

Paul came home an hour later, drenched and hungry for tacos.

"You're home early," she'd remarked while helping him take off his raincoat and kissing him on the cheek.

"I know, George saw the weather outside and told everyone to leave early, so as not to get stuck in traffic." Paul worked as an architect in downtown Jacksonville. "Actually," he added, "traffic wasn't so bad. How were classes?" he asked.

"Good…" Mimi said. "Rebecca finally learned how to do a split correctly." Mimi taught jazz dance at the Jacksonville Academy of Dance, only a few blocks away from where Paul worked and Rebecca was one of her favorite students.

"Dad!" Aiden called, rushing from the living room and giving an enormous bear hug to his father.

"Hey, kiddo," Paul replied hugging his son back. "How 'bout some tacos?"

And the four sat down to dinner.

* * *

Later, falling asleep, Mimi spoke to her husband.

"Do you think we did well?"

"What?" Paul murmured.

"Raising them. I mean, Jack's so quiet… and sometimes Aiden can be downright rude."

"Well," Paul said, sitting up, "yeah, Jack's quiet… but he's also so smart… I bet he reads at a fifth grade level!" Mimi nodded. Yes, Jack was very bright.

"And Aiden…" Paul trailed off. "Aiden can be rude, but he also knows his place." Paul paused. "And he's stellar at basketball!" Mimi nodded for a second time. She couldn't disagree with any of what he said.

"I suppose so." Mimi said finally. "G'night Paul."

He leaned over and kissed her on the top of her head. "Goodnight, love."

* * *

Mimi didn't often dream, so she was surprised to find herself in the kind of dark, empty space that only occurs when you're asleep.

She was about to try to wake herself up when out of the darkness walked a dark-skinned woman with hair twisted into mini-dreadlocks. She stuck out her hand in a manner that reminded Mimi one of the prosecutors in a cheesy daytime court TV show.

"Hello." she said, grasping Mim's unwilling hand. "I'm Joanne."

* * *

**Hope you liked it! I know it's not very clear, but all will be revealed...**

**--Yaz**

**PS Review???**


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